Generation III
mod 5}}|0=Ruby|1=Sapphire|2=Emerald|3=FireRed|4=LeafGreen}} |primary=Ruby |secondary=Sapphire |tertiary=Emerald |region=Hoenn |ndex=386 |debuten=March 19, 2003 |debutjp=November 21, 2002 |remakes=I |otherrpg= |battlearena= , |storage= |enden=April 22, 2007 |endjp=September 28, 2006 }} The third generation (Japanese: third generation) of Pokémon games, also sometimes known as the advance or advanced generation, is the third set of Pokémon games released, and is described by some to be a " " of the series. Centering around on the Game Boy Advance, released in 2002 and 2004 respectively (2003 and 2005 outside of Japan), Generation III broke from the continuous storyline that had been established between Generation I and Generation II, opting instead to move players to the Hoenn region, an island region disconnected from Kanto and Johto. The games themselves are incompatible with the previous two generations as well, initially causing many complaints due to the unavailability of many popular Generation I and II Pokémon in Ruby and Sapphire. This problem was remedied, however, between the release of Hoenn's paired versions and third version, with remakes of Generation I's appearing as on the Game Boy Advance, as well as Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness on the GameCube. Details in the Hoenn- and Kanto-based games hint that the storyline of Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald is contemporaneous with that of FireRed and LeafGreen (and due to this, contemporaneous with Generation I as well), placing Generation III three years before Generation II and Generation IV, themselves contemporaneous. It is unknown where the storylines of Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness fall in the timeline, being five years apart from each other but making no reference to their time period relative to any of the main series games. Advances in gameplay Through its incompatibility with Generation I and Generation II, Generation III enhanced the Pokémon world the most yet, bringing about the most changes to the world of Pokémon. The advances include: * The addition of , the most added since Generation I (at the time of its release), bringing the total to 386. Many new Pokémon have previously unseen type combinations, while two of them— and —are related by evolution to older Pokémon. * Two new forms of are also introduced. * The addition of , bringing the total to 354. * Pokémon may now have one or two of 77 different , special attributes in addition to types and moves which can change the tide of battle and affect out-of-battle gameplay. * The Pokémon Storage System has changed from a text-based interface to a full-color graphical user interface. Boxes, while remaining at 14, now have 10 extra spaces, allowing for storage of 140 additional Pokémon (for a total of 420 Pokémon). **It also now allows additional Pokémon to be captured without the need to change the active box of the PC, with the game now automatically sending newly captured Pokémon into a separate box rather than preventing the player from capturing any more Pokémon until the active box which is full is changed for one that isn't. * The introduction of Pokémon Contests, where Pokémon show off their style in one of five Contest conditions, with Contest stats enhanced by Pokéblocks. Through this and other methods Ribbons can be won for Pokémon, which they will retain when transferred to later games. * A brand-new region, Hoenn, with its own set of eight Gym Leaders and Elite Four. The player characters are also different from the previous games. * Seven new variants, replacing those introduced in and exclusive to Johto. * In addition, the type of Poké Ball a Pokémon was caught in is now displayed in the summary page. * New villainous teams, Team Aqua and Team Magma, whose focus is on capturing the Legendary Pokémon and , respectively. * Weather can now be found on the field and activate at the start of battle, while one more, , has been added. * Double Battles, where both sides use two Pokémon at a time, are introduced. * Communication capabilities with the e-Reader to activate certain events. * All handheld Generation III games have a framerate of 60, allowing for smoother animations. * Link trades and battles are made possible between Japanese and international releases due to the use of a worldwide character set. Due to the fact that online trading was introduced only in Generation IV, however, most are not made aware of this. Major alterations from Generation II * A complete overhaul of the Pokémon data structure; Pokémon now have an individual personality value which can range up to a number above four billion. Abilities and natures, also newly introduced, are determined based on this value, as is a Pokémon's gender, while the system has been overhauled for greater variance (0-31 rather than 0-15 as it was before). is now based on a calculation between the personality value and Original Trainer's Trainer ID number and secret ID number with the same rarity. * An overhaul of the Berry system introduced in Generation II: old Berries rejected in favor of Berries which grow individually as plants and can be picked and planted elsewhere. The Berries are now named after real life fruits instead of their "basic" names from the previous generation. The effects of the first ten new Berries are similar to the ten Generation II Berries. * Each Pokémon has its own status screen sprite, for ease of use in the party screen or PC. * The function of the built-in clock was greatly reduced. There are no cosmetic changes during different times of day and Pokémon appearances are not affected by time. Also, the day of the week is no longer tracked. ** have no built-in clock at all. * The seven Poké Balls made from Apricorns, along with Apricorns themselves, are unavailable in Generation III. * In battle, passive damage (such as from , and ) is now resolved at the end of a turn, rather than immediately after a Pokémon attacks. In previous generations, such damage did not occur after a Pokémon, that would have taken passive damage, knocked out another Pokémon. Further additions in * Wireless communication between games (requires adapter boxed with FireRed and LeafGreen). * The ability to move multiple Pokémon in the PC at once. * The Sevii Islands, a collection of nine islands that contain many Pokémon otherwise only found in the Johto region. * Items are now visually represented with sprites. Further additions in Emerald * Multi Battles, where two opponent Trainers encounter the player at once and battle in a Double Battle. * A , adding to the original , and featuring Trainers who head each facility. Regions Hoenn The Hoenn region, situated somewhat southwest of Johto, was introduced in Generation III. It is more tropical than either Kanto or Johto, featuring , , and volcanic caves, as well as areas deep underwater. This region's geography is mostly rural on the interior of the continent, with major cities springing up near its ample coasts. Routes between the cities can be treacherous, with densely-forested area covering much of the land. Legendary Pokémon are said to have created the region long ago, with its shape reminiscent of a reflecting the balance between land and sea. Several ancient ruins are found around the region; their purpose remains to be discovered by the player, though ancient writings found deep beneath the sea south of the region indicate that within them are ancient Pokémon who were sealed away due to their power. Starter Pokémon Like before, the starter trio follows the Grass-Fire-Water alignment, with new Pokémon , , and being the three Pokémon the player has to choose from to save Professor Birch from a wild ( in ) at the start of the game. Gym Leaders As in previous generations, all Gym Leaders give out Badges and TMs on their defeat. Kanto Kanto, which in Generation II lacked some features from its original appearance, returned in a state closer to its original form in , with all features from Generation I brought back and improved. Starter Pokémon As the Generation III games taking place in Kanto are remakes of Generation I games, the starters are the same as in that generation; they are the , the , and the . Gym Leaders Like the starter Pokémon, the Kanto Gym Leaders are also the same as they were before, with each giving out a TM for the player to use freely as well as their Badge. Sevii Islands The Sevii Islands, appearing only in , are a smaller region without a Pokémon League where the player can journey later in the game. These islands make available many to players of the Generation III games, and through events, allow for the capture of Generation II's game mascots and and the mysterious Pokémon . Other Generation III games Pokémon Colosseum, for the Nintendo GameCube, features a new land called Orre where several Generation II and Generation III Pokémon are altered by two teams called Cipher and Team Snagem. Players must "snag" the "Shadow Pokémon" and cure them of their darkness. Once this is completed, the Pokémon may be transferred to the other Generation III games. Pokémon Colosseum is the first 3D Pokémon RPG. This game also features an advanced Stadium Mode similar to those of the Pokémon Stadium games. is another Generation III game for the Nintendo GameCube. It allows: * Storage of up to 1500 Pokémon from Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, LeafGreen and Emerald Versions. * Playing Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire on the television through emulation. Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, also for the Nintendo GameCube, follows a storyline that takes place a few years after the story of Colosseum. It allows for snagging of rare Generation I, II, and III Pokémon as well, and includes a difficult-to-purify final Shadow Pokémon, a Shadow Lugia. Seven spin-off Pokémon games are based on Generation III: Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Pokémon Channel, Pokémon Dash, , Pokémon Trozei!, and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team. Discussion of Generation III While the opinion of the fandom shifts from time to time, Generation III is notable for drawing the most criticism for the series yet. The sense of a reboot when players were thrust into Hoenn (which excludes 184 of the older 251 Pokémon from availability) with no way to recover their old Pokémon drew ire from some fans. The game also saw a jump in newly introduced Legendary Pokémon, with 10 more introduced, a significant increase from Generation II, which only introduced 6. Later games improved this, however, with Emerald's return to Hoenn being a welcome addition to the series (and including the first in the series as well). FireRed and LeafGreen brought back nostalgic fans who decided to pass on Hoenn's primary paired versions, as well as bringing new fans to the Kanto region, only previously available in its fullest state on the Game Boy. Hoenn thematic motif The third generation of Pokémon games were more directed towards nature and relationships. The three starters were collectively more symbolic to their elements than previous starters: is based on a fish which thrives only in , is a chick (which, in the real world, needs warmth in order to hatch) holding its internally, and is a gecko that lives only in forests with . The main antagonists were either Team Magma and/or Team Aqua who want to expand the land or sea respectively. Once they awaken one of the Legendary Pokémon or , the world is flooded by rain or dried by drought. It's up to the player to set nature back on course by defeating their version's mascot or capturing it. Hoenn's people are far more attuned to nature than previous regions: Fortree City is built alongside Pokémon in the trees, while Pacifidlog Town is built on wooden rafts in the sea atop a colony, even though Corsola cannot be found there in the games. With , a player can make a Secret Base out of trees, caves, or clumps of grass. There are far more Pokémon that share relationships with other Pokémon in this generation of games, especially the Legendary Pokémon. The Legendary titans are an obvious example of this; however, the game mascots all share a relationship as the weather trio. and are both Eon Pokémon that must be chased around the region. Pokémon such as , , , and are related to other Pokémon, namely , , , and , in relationships ranging from explicit to loose symbiosis, to intense rivalry in the case of and . English title screens Japanese title screens Trivia * Generation III introduced the most Abilities to the series, with 76 (77 if including ). * Generation III was the first generation to: ** Include both a mother and father for the main character and the rival. ** Introduce multiple Legendary trios (the weather trio and the Legendary titans). ** Introduce gendered Legendary Pokémon (with and being the first two). ** Introduce multiple Mythical Pokémon. ** Not introduce any new evolutions for . ** Not allow the customization of a rival character's name. ** Have multiple paired versions, one pair of which are remakes. ** Give the Elite Four its own battle music, as opposed to them sharing the same battle music as the Gym Leaders in previous generations. However, FireRed, LeafGreen, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Diamond, Pearl and Platinum still do this, with the latter three's Elite Four battle music having a lower pitch by one semitone. ** Use wireless connectivity. ** Feature the word "Pokémon" in the logos of the Japanese titles, alongside "Pocket Monsters." * Generation III is the only generation that: ** Introduced two pseudo-legendary Pokémon. ** Is unable to communicate with games from the previous generation. ** Introduced an even number of Abilities (excluding Cacophony). ** Released two brand new sets of Pokémon games in the same calendar year in Japan, with and releasing in 2004. ** Had more than one year with no new Pokémon game being released in Japan, with the total being two years (2003 and 2005). ** Has an even number of Pokémon in the National Pokédex. ** Lasted longer in the West than in Japan. * Generation III does not introduce any evolved forms of Pokémon from previous generations (a trait shared with generations V and VII), with the only cross-generational relatives being baby Pokémon and . * Generation III has the largest number of total games, with fifteen. * Starting with Generation III, Ken Sugimori's art style shows noticeable differences from that of Generation I and . This can be seen when comparing the artwork for , , and and Pokémon from their original games to that of those games' remakes. * Most of the Generation III Pokémon that are not in the Sinnoh Pokédex have only one sprite in the Generation IV games. received sprite updates in , while Generation I and II Pokémon received updates in . * Almost all the backsprites of non-Generation III Pokémon are revamps of the backsprites in the Generation II games. * Generation III is the longest generation in North America, lasting slightly over four years. Category:Games de:Dritte Spielgeneration es:Tercera generación fr:Troisième génération it:Terza generazione ja:第三世代 zh:第三世代